Collars vs Harnesses ?

[semo]

when i say harness i mean the collar type thing that goes over the shoulders and around the chest, etc.

basically i am trying to figure out the main diff between these 2 items.

i need pro's / con's of each and when it is best to use the 2.

the harness seems like it might be more stable on a dog and better on their neck / body,

i want some info from you all though ;)

be back in the morning, thanks.

[FearlessKnight]

Well actually you should use a harness when first teaching the pup to walk with you. It causes less strain on their neck and joints, and it helps to teach them easier and faster! You will get more positve results from a harness, than you would a collar. I wouldn't use a collar until about 7-8 months. Collars tend to hurt the pups neck, they are so young and delicate at that age. I strongly suggest using a harness. You can find this information in almost any training guide....I know you shouldn't believe everything or anything you read or hear, but this from experience is the best way to go IMO!

[MercedesMama]

I always use a harness, with a collar on the dog for back-up. I feel you have better control of the dog with a harness on.

[FearlessKnight]

oops.........sorry I had worded that wrong!

[bahamutt99]

It all depends on what you want to do at the time. I've got a shoebox full of different kinds of collars and a rack inside my door with different kinds of leashes. (I've found that keeping outgrown and old collars comes in handy.) Loki wears a 1" nylon collar just to keep her tags on and give me something to hook the leash up to for potty breaks.

We use a harness for exercising, because its more comfortable for the dog to pull. It also gets used when Loki rides in my husband's 2-door; we have a thing that plugs into the female end of the seatbelt and ends in a clip that hooks to the ring on the harness. Its useful to keep her in the backseat and out of the way. However, I prefer not to use a harness on a puppy until after they've learned some leash manners. Because I don't want them to get comfortable with the idea of pulling on lead until after they've learned when it is and isn't appropriate.

[SApits]

It all depends on what you are wanting to do with you dog. If all you are ever going to do is use you dog as a house pet or for weight pull i'd probably go with a harness. But for hog catch, etc... I stick with a well made nylon collar.

[BoiBoi]

My opinion is that a harness should only be used for walking or weight pulling and never tie out a dog with a harness on because they can easily slip out of the harness.

[Riptora]

I have a pet peeve with the over use of harnesses. Go to any obedience class or see any trainer and they will tell you the same. Harnesses are for working, if you want your dog to pull you around and be in power, walk your dog with a harness. Harnesses are used in protection training, weight pulling and tracking... why? Because it allows the dog to lead you. It takes the strongest part of the dog and attaches it to a lead.

If you have control of your dog's head, you have control of the rest of the body ( just like horses ). Where the head goes, the body leads. Envision a scenario where your dog is trying to get at another dog. Imagine the dog who is capable of pulling over 1,000 lbs. actually getting closer to the other dog. Do you think you have control with a harness? Or do you think you could pull UP on a prong collar and redirect your dog in the opposite direction?

If you want to train a dog to walk and have control in public. Use at least a collar. A prong collar or choke chain is best. These dogs have more muscle on their necks than you can imagine, it does NOT hurt them. See a trainer or do some homework on how to correct a dog to walk beside you. You will also notice that NO harnesses will be a part of it. You won't injure your pup if you train it properly. Pups are smart, they don't need to be on a leash until they are ready and when they are, they will catch on and start off on the right foot. You don't paper train a puppy to pee in your house when you ultimately want it to go outside, so you wouldn't train a puppy to walk "it's" way on a lead, when ultimately want it to walk "your" way. Make your standards clear from day one, don't compromise, you won't hurt your pup by training it properly.

If you don't believe me, whip out your phone book and call the local obedience schools and ask what they think about you bringing your dog in on a harness. Avoid some headlines and "accidents" by walking your dog with the proper equipment. Harnesses look good ( what looks even better is a well trained dog walking properly ) and they can be an asset in specialized training and that's all they are good for IMO.

[BoiBoi]

I have a pet peeve with the over use of harnesses. Go to any obedience class or see any trainer and they will tell you the same. Harnesses are for working, if you want your dog to pull you around and be in power, walk your dog with a harness. Harnesses are used in protection training, weight pulling and tracking... why? Because it allows the dog to lead you. It takes the strongest part of the dog and attaches it to a lead.

If you have control of your dog's head, you have control of the rest of the body ( just like horses ). Where the head goes, the body leads. Envision a scenario where your dog is trying to get at another dog. Imagine the dog who is capable of pulling over 1,000 lbs. actually getting closer to the other dog. Do you think you have control with a harness? Or do you think you could pull UP on a prong collar and redirect your dog in the opposite direction?

If you want to train a dog to walk and have control in public. Use at least a collar. A prong collar or choke chain is best. These dogs have more muscle on their necks than you can imagine, it does NOT hurt them. See a trainer or do some homework on how to correct a dog to walk beside you. You will also notice that NO harnesses will be a part of it. You won't injure your pup if you train it properly. Pups are smart, they don't need to be on a leash until they are ready and when they are, they will catch on and start off on the right foot. You don't paper train a puppy to pee in your house when you ultimately want it to go outside, so you wouldn't train a puppy to walk "it's" way on a lead, when ultimately want it to walk "your" way. Make your standards clear from day one, don't compromise, you won't hurt your pup by training it properly.

If you don't believe me, whip out your phone book and call the local obedience schools and ask what they think about you bringing your dog in on a harness. Avoid some headlines and "accidents" by walking your dog with the proper equipment. Harnesses look good ( what looks even better is a well trained dog walking properly ) and they can be an asset in specialized training and that's all they are good for IMO.I understand what ur saying but it has been proven through trial and error that many bulldogs don't really care about a choke collar or a prong collar. I've used both on my dog with no results he just pulls like they aren't even there. The bad part about that is that those type of collars can seriously hurt a dog if he continues to pull. I resorted to getting a well made harness where he can pull on the lead comfortably and i have come to the conclusion that i can control him much better with a harness on than with any type of collar. I say this because if he tries to go after something all i have to do is pull back on the lead and i can pull back his whole body at once not just his neck. Another factor is that apbt's love to pull and thats known, its good excersize for both u and the dog so why not have something that is more comfortable for both u and the dog.

Oh yea and i believe some people have had prong collars actually break apart on them while the dog was pulling after something. Aluminum welds are not that hard to break with the right amount of force FYI

[chrisgr212]

i have the same opinion with boiboi

[RED GATOR]

I think it looks ridiculas when dogs are walking there owners. granted a properly trained pit bull will walk good on a harness but the majority of the time you will get pulled around. if you have control over there neck and head on a collar you can keep them walking right beside you. It takes a lot of effort on your part for your dog to walk with you properly. With a harness the dog has an advantage because you are trying to control were they are most powerful and they have a lower center of gravity. to walk your dog in public and having to use your body weight to hold your dog back does not look good for the breed it. it makes them look uncontrolable. I see this all of the time.

If you walk your dog an a harness and you are in control that is great

[semo]

i was thinking that a harness would be fairly easy to control if you are a not a small person...I mean a pitbull can pull a lot of weight, but so can a human,,,and all else fails we could just lift them up...

i dont know, it would probably make sense to have both,,


the collar for tags and quickie walks, and chaining up.. and the harness for activities and more prolonged situations..

icould be wrong..

P.S.
I am referring to mostly wearing a harness out in the country, not int he center of a city as some might ;)

[BoiBoi]

Well im an average size guy and my dog is 70lbs stacked, when i walk him with the harness i have complete control of him at all times but when i try to walk him on a collar his is pulling the whole time and there is no way to stop him. On the harness he learned really quick that i can stop him so he doesn't pull that much. I think if u feel u can't control ur own dog then u shouldn't be walking that dog in public, i allow my dog to pull on the lead for excersize but when he's off lead he's very obedient. If the dog is just too powerful for someone than it doesn't matter what u use to walk him with it won't help at all. When i was around 10 or 11 i had a GSD mix that liked to pull so we got and choke collar thinking it would help, well one day on a walk i wasn't paying attention to her and she saw a cat under a bush and let me tell u that choke collar did nothing to stop her and she proceeded to drag me across the pavement yea not fun at all. Think about that and think about the amount of drive an apbt has, do u think a little pinch on the neck is really gonna stop it.

[mikelia]

I agree that a pit bull is not going to respond to the pinch of a collar to the same degree another breed may, but I don't choose collars so that they will hurt my dog. My favourite training tool is a large link choke chain, and simply for the fact that it makes noise. My dogs know what the sound of the choke is and all I need to do is tighten it quickly enough so that it makes the noise, not necessarily ever tighten on their neck. It is similar to using the pennies in a can or using a loud 'aaahhh' voice correction. I have done quite a bit of private training with problem behaviour dogs and I have definately had the most success with the choke chain, but I never, ever allow a dog to 'choke' itself with it.
I bought my dog a harness once she learned to walk nicely on leash. I will sometimes use a double ended leash and attacht one end to the harness and the other to the choke when I rollerblade with her, cause in a harness she could drag my on my ass, but with the choke she knows I mean buisiness.
I agree with Riptoras views on harnesses and I only use them for working the dog.

[davidlau_2002]

honestly, you are tripping or your dog is not very driven if you think that a harness is easier to walk with than a collar. riptora is right when saying that the collar controls the neck and head and thus the body. my dog saw another shepard that was barking aggressively at him and he pulled my on my harness. (he is 70 lbs) i pulled with all my might but he tugged leaning forward till his legs were horizontal and his head was practically laying on the floor. when he got there, he bit the shepard in the leg and i couldn't pull him sideways. after that incident, i used the collar and every time he stares down or tries to go towards a dog, i step 45 degrees to the side and pull. it forces him to spin sideways until i can get him off balance and drag him to my direction. in my experience like riptora says, you can steer a dog with a collar where with a harness you are just playing tug of war.

[BoiBoi]

honestly, you are tripping or your dog is not very driven if you think that a harness is easier to walk with than a collar. riptora is right when saying that the collar controls the neck and head and thus the body. my dog saw another shepard that was barking aggressively at him and he pulled my on my harness. (he is 70 lbs) i pulled with all my might but he tugged leaning forward till his legs were horizontal and his head was practically laying on the floor. when he got there, he bit the shepard in the leg and i couldn't pull him sideways. after that incident, i used the collar and every time he stares down or tries to go towards a dog, i step 45 degrees to the side and pull. it forces him to spin sideways until i can get him off balance and drag him to my direction. in my experience like riptora says, you can steer a dog with a collar where with a harness you are just playing tug of war.
I don't know man my dog has a whole lot of drive to him and when he see's something its hard to get his attention off of it, im just saying from experience using both types of collars and a harness that i can control my dog a lot better with a harness. When he tries to pull after something i simply pull back so that his front legs are off the ground at which point he can't really do a damn thing. I've used a choke and prong on him and all he does is turn his head towards me but the rest of him is still going towards whatever it is he's after. I'm not saying that collars wont work on any dog im just saying that for me the only collar that works is the shock collar that stops him in his tracks no matter what but that also cost around $150 so thats not really an option for everyone.

[FearlessKnight]

I think.....As with anything and everything else, find out what works best for you and your dog! Which one will he/she train better on? Which one will he/she respond to better? Which one are you able to make him/her mind better with? Try both....see which one works better for you and your dog!

We used collars and harnesses, OURS are better with a harness, only at a young age! We use Prong collars, ONE of ours ONLY responds to the prong collar! ANOTHER ONLY responds to the harness. Others respond to a shoelace tied around their neck!!!....lol J/K Find out what works for you and yours!

[jeeperino]

I will quote Mr. Mayfield " A harness is only good for pictures"

A work harness with tracer weights works well for conditioning. Other than that you can have em'.

[bahamutt99]

I was just thinking back and its actually been a long time since I've used a harness. I've got a wide collar that I put on Loki for biking or exercise walks. She's not a big puller anyway, unless a small furry crosses our path. The harness is still the best thing for use with a dog seatbelt because it wont throttle your dog if you're ever in an accident.

Some of these dogs get collar-smart, like mine for example. I trained her to walk using a choke, and now I can put a very light-link show choke on her and she will not attempt to pull 99% of the time. If I put a wide collar on her, she knows she can get away with more and I let her. If I put a pull harness on her she understands its time to work. If you've got a smart dog and you're willing to put the work into them, you can train them to react differently to all kinds of different gear. It just depends on what you want out of the dog.

[asaj]

I use collar untill they are fully trained , with the " not to pull", when walking. After that I use harness. I never use harness on a puppy.

[acr]

I use both on Sug'. He wears his collar all the time and his harness only when we go walking. The harness gives me better control as I direct and train him. He gets very excited when I get his harness out because he knows what that means - we're going on a walk! :-)

[Riptora]

Of all the hundreds of different breeds of dog, this is the last one I would worry about injuring with a collar. They won't respond if you're not giving proper corrections, because of all breeds, this one has one of the highest thresholds for pain and a neck of steel. It's all about getting their attention. It's easy to improperly fit a prong collar, I imagine they would snap off this way. Take notice how sled dogs, tracking dogs, and weight pulling dogs wear harnesses and obedience dogs, show dogs, agility dogs, military and police dogs, wear choke styles. Adopting out dogs, I've heard this debate many times, you might think your walking your dog when you're being walked. Sme people don't like the idea of pulling their pet around by the neck, but this is what taming an animal is all about.

[420puffer]

I always use a harness, with a collar on the dog for back-up. I feel you have better control of the dog with a harness on.I agree. My dog tends to pull harder with a harness on than a collar also maybe because its less strain on their neck